Glossary of Identity-Related Terms
Sex: An assignment that is made at birth, usually male or female, typically based on external genital anatomy but sometimes based on internal gonads, chromosomes, or hormone levels
Assigned male at birth: Children believed to be male when born and initially raised as boys
Assigned female at birth: Children believed to be female when born and initially raised as girls
Birthing person: Someone who gives birth, regardless of their gender identity, which may be female, male, nonbinary, or other
Gender identity: A person’s deep internal sense of being female, male, a combination of both, somewhere in between, or neither, resulting from a multifaceted interaction of biological traits, environmental factors, self-understanding, and cultural expectations
Sexual orientation: A person’s sexual identity in relation to the gender(s) to which they are attracted; sexual orientation and gender identity develop separately.
Gender expression: The external way a person expresses their gender, such as with clothing, hair, mannerisms, activities, or social roles
Gender perception: The way others interpret a person’s gender expression
Affirmed gender: When a person’s true gender identity, or concern about their gender identity, is communicated to and validated from others as authentic
Gender diverse: A term that is used to describe people with gender behaviors, appearances, or identities that are incongruent with those culturally assigned to their birth sex; gender-diverse individuals may refer to themselves with many different terms, such as transgender, nonbinary, genderqueer,7 gender fluid, gender creative, gender independent, or noncisgender. “Gender diverse” is used to acknowledge and include the vast diversity of gender identities that exists. It replaces the former term, “gender nonconforming,” which has a negative and exclusionary connotation.
Gender dysphoria: A clinical symptom that is characterized by a sense of alienation to some or all of the physical characteristics or social roles of one’s assigned gender; also, gender dysphoria is the psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM-5, which has focus on the distress that stems from the incongruence between one’s expressed or experienced (affirmed) gender and the gender assigned at birth.
Gender identity disorder: A psychiatric diagnosis defined previously in the DSM-IV (changed to “gender dysphoria” in the DSM-5); the primary criteria include a strong, persistent cross-sex identification and significant distress and social impairment. This diagnosis is no longer appropriate for use and may lead to stigma, but the term may be found in older research.
GENDER IDENTITIES
Agender: A term that is used to describe a person who does not identify as having a particular gender
Cisgender: A term that is used to describe a person who identifies and expresses a gender that is consistent with the culturally defined norms of the sex they were assigned at birth
FTM; affirmed male; trans male: Terms that are used to describe individuals who were assigned female sex at birth but who have a gender identity and/or expression that is asserted to be more masculine
Intersex: Children whose anatomy develops differently than usual for either males or females. Most transgender children do not have intersex traits.
MTF; affirmed female; trans female: Terms that are used to describe individuals who were assigned male sex at birth but who have a gender identity and/or expression that is asserted to be more feminine
Nonbinary: Children and adults who don’t identify as male or female
Transgender: A subset of gender-diverse youth whose gender identity does not match their assigned sex and generally remains persistent, consistent, and insistent over time; the term “transgender” also encompasses many other labels individuals may use to refer to themselves.
To Learn more click link below